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Granby Man Arraigned for Producing, Possessing, Distributing Child Pornography and for Unauthorized Access to College Students’ Computers and Email

NORTHAMPTON – A Granby man has been arraigned for allegedly producing, possessing, and distributing child pornography, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced today. The defendant was also arraigned on charges relating to the unauthorized access of Springfield College students’ computers and email accounts, as well as charges for possessing and improperly storing an unlicensed firearm.

David Linnehan, age 38, was arraigned on Thursday in Hampshire Superior Court on the charges of Production of Child Pornography (2 counts), Attempted Production of Child Pornography, Dissemination of Child Pornography (8 counts), Possession of Child Pornography (11 counts), Unauthorized Access to Computer System (13 counts), Unlicensed Possession of a Firearm, and Unsecured Storage of a Firearm.

At the arraignment, Linnehan pleaded not guilty to the charges and the $25,000 bail was transferred from Eastern Hampshire District Court with the conditions that he surrender his passport, not leave the state of Massachusetts, be monitored via GPS, have no access to the Internet, have no contact with any child under the age of 18, and stay away from parks, daycares and schools. Linnehan is due back in Hampshire Superior Court on June 11 for a pre-trial hearing.

In March 2013, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office received information from federal authorities about an e-mail account linked to a residence in Granby that they believed was involved in the trading of child pornography. In April 2013, State Police obtained and executed a search warrant for that residence. State Police subsequently arrested Linnehan. On April 2, 2013, he was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on charges of Possession of Child Pornography (2 counts), where he entered a plea of not guilty and bail was set at $25,000 with various conditions.

Further investigation revealed that Linnehan allegedly stored thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse on computers and other media at home and at his workplace in addition to the files allegedly located within his email. Linnehan also allegedly distributed child pornography via email.

As the investigation continued, it was learned that Linnehan allegedly encouraged an out-of-state woman to take and send him nude photographs of her young daughter. Investigators also allege that Linnehan attempted to solicit self-produced, nude images of another minor over the Internet.

Further, forensic evidence revealed that Linnehan allegedly abused his position as an IT administrator at Springfield College to gain unauthorized access to students’ computers, school email accounts, and, on at least one occasion, a personal Gmail account. Through this access, Linnehan allegedly copied and downloaded private, personal photographs without authorization and stored them on his own computers. The AG’s Office has worked with Springfield College to identify and notify all known students affected by this conduct.

Investigators also found an unlicensed, unsecured firearm at Linnehan’s residence.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Timothy Wyse of Attorney General Coakley’s Cyber Crime Division. It was investigated by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, investigators from the AG’s Computer Forensics Lab, members of the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and agents from Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Granby Police Department. Springfield College cooperated fully throughout this investigation.